Best Man for the Job
by silverfirelizard53
Summary: George chose Percy to be the Best Man at his wedding, even though everyone knows it should have been someone else.


**Best Man for the Job**

* * *

It was uncharacteristically warm, even for June. Percy could feel small drops of sweat forming on the back of his neck to roll annoyingly down between his shoulder blades. His dress robes were stifling, and they somehow kept shifting out of place. Custom-fit was a lie wizards told themselves even though they knew that magic had its faults; no one could ever make nice clothes fit perfectly. Audrey straightened the collar of his robes, pressed down the seam on his lapel, smoothed back a curl in his wavy red hair, and then planted a kiss on his cheek. She didn't seem to mind the sweat.

"You'll be amazing," she said.

"I'm not so sure," mumbled Percy.

He was nervous, more so than he had ever been in his life. In fact, Percy Weasley was downright terrified. He hadn't even been this worked up when he turned down the job offer from Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the stakes had been quite high even then. His hands shook, and his knees knocked together like castanets. He was also quite certain that he was going to be sick in the rose bushes along the walkway to the grand marquee. What if he tripped going up the steps to the wedding party table? What if they all laughed him off the stage? What if no one wanted to hear him speak? What if George hated his every word?

Through his tunnel vision, Percy could just make out his brother's ginger hair. George was sitting front and center (where he naturally belonged), alongside his beautiful new bride. It was the picture of perfection. The only thing missing was the Best Man.

Percy almost took a step forward, but he couldn't do it. "This was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't," his wife corrected. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Percy Ignatius Weasley, George asked YOU to be his Best Man. If you don't go up there, you'll break your promise to Fred. I know that's not what you want to do."

She was right. Audrey was always right.

"For Fred," Percy said, trying to quell the wave of emotion that had risen inside his chest.

"Yes," replied Audrey fiercely. "He's cheering you on right now, I know it!"

And it might just have been a shift in the wind, but Percy swore he actually did feel his brother's presence beside him. He took one deep breath so he wouldn't hyperventilate, and then he took the few short steps to the marquee. It might as well have been a hundred miles, but Percy walked it anyway. George was the first person to notice his return. They locked eyes for a brief moment, and Percy thought again of Fred, whose eyes had always been the exact same shape, color, and size. They had been twins, after all. It was impossible to think of one without the other. George immediately fell silent, and so did Angelina, Ron, and the rest of the wedding party. Lee Jordan tapped a fork against his champagne flute, and everyone else went silent too.

"I'd like to make a toast," said Percy, using his wand to magically magnify his voice.

He picked up his own champagne glass, which had been sitting untouched by his place at the table. The second his fingers made contact with the crystal, though, it burst into an ordinary rubber chicken with a loud squeak. Percy didn't say anything. He glanced back over at his brother and saw the telltale twitch of his lips that indicated he was guilty. How many times had Percy seen that look growing up? The twins had always been so easy to read, if you knew the signs. The rubber chicken joke had been a favorite of theirs. The crowd laughed. Percy allowed himself a small smile as well, and then he proceeded with his speech. The chicken remained in his hand.

"First, I want everyone to raise a glass to my brother George and his wife, Angelina!"

"To George and Angelina!" shouted the crowd, and there was the clink of crystal all around.

Percy waited until they were quiet again. "Secondly, I'd also like to take a moment to say that I don't belong here at this table."

Instantly, the mood in the marquee shifted. Several people stopped smiling. Someone gave an awkward cough. In an attempt to avert his eyes, Percy checked the notes he had scribbled on his palm in haste earlier that afternoon. Sweat had made the ink run. He already knew exactly what he was supposed to say, but nerves had made his brain incredibly foggy.

Time to improvise.

"I was so surprised when George asked me to be his Best Man. I think we all know — because it goes without saying—that I was the second choice. Obviously, Fred should have been the one to give this speech, and I'm a hundred percent certain that he would have done a much better job than me. I don't deserve to be standing here."

No one smiled now.

"Fred would have made you laugh," said Percy. "He would have told you a joke or something. I like to think he would have chosen to tell the story about the time he took Angelina to the Yule Ball back in their sixth year at Hogwarts, which he had done — as friends — so that he could play wingman to getting George and Angelina trapped in a broom closet together. Which I then walked into on accident…"

Several people burst unexpectedly into laughter, including George and Angelina. Percy chuckled along with them, emboldened by their reaction. From somewhere in the back, Charlie wolf-whistled again.

"They weren't doing anything," Percy amended quickly. "Get your head out of the gutter, Charlie! George didn't have the faintest idea what he was doing back then."

More laughter.

"Or maybe," continued the Best Man, speaking over the other voices in the marquee; "Fred would have told an embarrassing story. There's a great one involving George, Angelina, and their Fever Fudge product before they managed to get rid of the side effect of great big boils on their…"

"Don't you dare!" George said. Beside him, Angelina was roaring with laughter.

Percy grinned. "Sorry."

It took a long time for the crowd to finish laughing this time. Those who knew the story were quietly whispering to it everyone else, and then the laughter would resume once more. George's face was red, but he looked amused by the memory. Percy looked out across the audience. He saw Ginny telling the story to her fiancé Harry, who was now laughing so hard he was practically crying.

"Anyway," said Percy. "What I'm trying to say is that Fred would have done a much better job at being George's Best Man. I don't deserve a brother like George. I don't deserve a brother who treats me to take-out once a week because he's worried I don't eat enough. I don't deserve a brother who challenges me to every single Muggle board game he can find even though he refuses to read the damn rulebooks. I don't deserve a brother who donates a substantial amount every month to the non-profit where I work. I don't deserve a brother who buys _my_ wife flowers on her birthday...and tells her that I'm only half as annoying as I used to be. I don't deserve a brother who forgives so freely. I don't deserve George."

There was a small noise of protest, and Percy looked around to find that his mother had risen halfway out of her chair. Even though there were tear tracks shining on her face, he knew that she was quite ready to fuss at the person who had put such terrible notions in his head. The joke was on her, though, because his words had come straight from his heart. It was the cold, hard truth. Percy gave a quick shake of his head, and his father gently pulled his mother back down to her seat. The rest of the crowd, he noticed, looked almost as uncomfortable.

"Everyone here knows that Fred should have been the one to give this speech. They were as thick as thieves, and the two of them did everything together. Yet, I am the one who is standing here. I made to promise to Fred after he died that I would do better...that I would be better. And I am so blessed to have a family who would give me that second chance."

Percy was afraid to look at anyone in his family right now, so he searched for comfort in the familiar eyes of his wife. Audrey stood at the back of the marquee, smiling at him. She looked so pretty tonight; he admired the way the fairy lights reflected on her sleek black hair. He took another deep breath, and then turned to face his brother's new wife: "Angelina, I just want to let you know that you are perfect and beautiful and funny. You deserve a man who will make you laugh every day, because the room lights up when you smile. I know that person is George. Together, the two of you are a force to be reckoned with. Heads turn wherever you go, and not just because one of you owns an incredibly successful joke shop and the other works for the English National Quidditch Team. You make us laugh, even though we all still live with so much hurt. Thank you for being that one couple who still dares to laugh."

Angelina nodded, dabbing at the corners of her eyes so that the tears would not ruin her makeup.

"I'll say one more thing," said Percy, sniffing. "Then I will get my depressing ass off the stage so that you can get on with the actual fun. I don't pretend to know a lot about love, but here is something that I have learned over the last few years:

Love is about being vulnerable. To truly love someone, you have to let them see everything that you want to keep hidden. Even if it is a deep hurt...or something shameful that you'd rather keep locked away. True love will accept you no matter what, and they will take that dark secret inside of you and shape it into something beautiful. It's okay to be wrong, to make mistakes, but it takes vulnerability to accept those shortcomings in yourself...and to ask for forgiveness. If you don't, then you risk cutting yourself off from love altogether...like I did."

Percy shuffled his feet awkwardly. No one spoke in the crowd. He could feel the eyes boring into him like a thousand spotlights, hot and uncomfortable. He caught sight of Audrey again, and she gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

"I say this knowing full well that George and Angelina have already heard this speech. I mean, they were the ones who taught me about love in the first place — well, them and my beautiful wife Audrey — but I needed this opportunity to say it out loud in front of an audience. I love my family. And I love my brother...even when he drives me nuts. I want nothing but the best for him. I hope that he and Angelina find a long lifetime of happiness ahead of them."

Their siblings were the first to start clapping. Percy looked up to find Bill and Charlie on their feet, nodding in approval. Ginny was the one whistling this time, and Ron banged on the table, causing all the crystal glasses to wobble precariously. Best of all, however, George stood up and made his way around the front table. He gave Percy a look that plainly communicated a thousand different things at once, and they embraced.

Percy patted him sheepishly on the back.

"I love you too, Perce," said George. "And so did Fred."

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**A/N: **When I was writing the first chapter of Full Steam Ahead, I had this idea that Percy gave a very emotional Best Man speech for George's wedding. However, I couldn't find a way to fit it into the story. It didn't really fit with the tone. I always had bits and pieces of the speech floating around in my head, but I finally sat down and wrote it all. I love Percy; he deserves more screen time in fanfiction.


End file.
